HENRY SCHULMAN ON BASEBALL -- The Hallowed House That Ruth Built? Raze It

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, April 28, 1998

IT'S A shame that Joe DiMaggio has become a recluse, because his opinions on the state of the game are so thoughtful. When he did make a public appearance last week, he was asked about Yankee Stadium. His answer was surprising.

Joltin' Joe doesn't get misty thinking about the place.

"I feel sorry for people in the Bronx and other baseball fans who are sentimental about the house that Ruth built," DiMaggio said. "But I'm not sentimental when I think of that outfield. Five hundred feet. That's how far we had to hit them to get a home run."

In that spirit, it's time to utter a heresy: Yankee Stadium should be bulldozed and replaced with a Camden Yards-like jewel in the heart of Manhattan.

What a national showplace that would be, one of these new old-style ballparks sitting on the banks of the Hudson River with a view of the midtown Manhattan skyline. Fans from around America, not just New York, would flock to the place.

This is not a mere pipe dream. Plans for such a park have been in the vault for years. There is suitable land near the Javits Convention Center, easily accessible by subway and not far from the Port Authority transit station, a major bus hub.

Problem is, there never has been the political will in the Big Apple to spend the money and get it built. Perhaps the near-disaster at Yankee Stadium that forced the club to postpone a week's worth of games will light a political fire.

Yes, such a park would no doubt be the most expensive ever built, considering the land costs. But it's hard to believe that George Steinbrenner and the city couldn't make the numbers work, given how much interest the place would attract. If Mayor Rudolph Giuliani could lower New York's homicide rate and force the cabbies to stop driving in their undershirts, he could certainly make this real-estate deal happen.

He would just have to overcome the babble of traditionalists such as Linda Ruth Tosetti, granddaughter of the Bambino himself, who said, "He would have been the first to say, 'What? No way.' He would have been getting the fans and storming the stadium."

One problem, Mrs. Tosetti. If they stormed the stadium today, it probably would fall down.

MO DESERVES MORE: The Red Sox better give first baseman Mo Vaughn the money he wants, or else he'll leave for a better job, perhaps mayor of Boston or governor of Massachusetts. Right now, he could be elected to either.

The Sox (17-6) are playing terrific baseball, best exemplified by their recently concluded 9-1 homestand. Boston won six of those games in its last at-bat, twice on ninth-inning hits by Vaughn.

CUB FEVER: When center fielder Brian McRae left the Cubs in a trade last year, he said there's a "negative aura" surrounding the club. "As a Cub, you feel it. I mean, losing wears on a lot of people, and maybe there's a little bit more than at other places because they haven't won in so long and you feel a sense of urgency to win. You try to block it out, but it's still there. If you hear it every day, year in, year out, it gets through to you."

Leave it to a free thinker like new Chicago closer Rod Beck to call McRae on his thesis.

"When you change the personnel on the ballclub, you're also bringing in different personalities and different attitudes," Beck said. "Maybe if McRae and some others felt that way, maybe that was the cause of what happened last year (when Chicago lost 94 games). I don't know. But you bring in a Jeff Blauser and a Mickey Morandini, and with the guys we had here before, we all expect to win. I've never gone to the park with a defeatist attitude."

Let's see if that defeatist attitude emerges now that the Cubs are struggling after their 12-7 start. Before beating the Padres 3-1 in San Diego last night, they had lost five in a row.

GOING FOR STRIKEOUT NO. 6,000? With expansion creating a lot of jobs for mediocre pitchers, one wonders if oldies like Nolan Ryan or Charlie Hough could find work in the majors today.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Ryan, 51, said he still can throw in the 90s. Anyone who remembers his countless hours of riding an exercise bike, even after pitching, could picture him with enough stamina to go six or seven innings.

But Ryan said he never harbors thoughts of what would be an interesting comeback. Despite all his hard work, his body told him to retire in 1993, and his body's story hasn't changed.

"I can still go out and throw, but it's the other things," he said. "You know, you have an Achilles problem or something else happens; you sprain your elbow. You spend so much time rehabbing, it just wasn't a productive time anymore."

BUNT SINGLES: The Rockies are really in trouble if the best they can do in a 13-game homestand is 3-10. . . . Former Giant Trevor Wilson is pitching for Anaheim's Triple-A Vancouver affiliate in yet another comeback bid. . . . The Padres are so good they don't need Eddie Williams, who plays for their Triple-A Las Vegas team and hit four homers in a game last week. The last Pacific Coast League player to do that was Matt Williams, in 1988.